Hi I am new to the site today and would be grateful for some advice!

Before I had my female bunny spayed in November I used to be able to pick her up and bring her out of her hutch which she quite happily let me do. I was also able to pick her up (after chasing her round of course) and I could also pick her up onto my lap. She is fully recovered from the op now but she no longer allows me to pick her up and she nips at my hands when I try to do so (which is making me more hesitant)!! Further attempts to pick her up result a harder bite!! It is now taking me much more time to get her out of the hutch to bring her indoors and to put her away at night.

Does anyone have any ideas as to why she is no longer allowing me to pick her up and how I can avoid/stop the nipping/biting???

patience and peserverence i think will over come this,there is no quick fix.

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(formally clare7577)

I agree with that... 7 years I've had my rabbit and she's only recently stopped trying to bite me!!!

You tend to have to do everything on your rabbits terms really, I used to only stroke Meg when she was in the mood for a stroke - as soon as that mood changed I had to move my hand to cover. The beast - love her to bits though!

Just take your time and talk to her gently, she'll learn to trust you and understand what you are doing with time. It may be that she links being picked up with the vet at the moment as being spayed is propbably a big deal to a bunny

When the biting was really bad we used to use a towel. Just put it gently over her head and talk gently to her and lift her slowly. Keep a tight grip so she feels safe and bring her into your body when carrying. THis was always the least stressful when we had to pick Meg up.

Hope that helps

When you approach her hutch make sure she knows you are there by talking to her. Does she give you any warning before she bites e.g Growling? If she does then before she get the chance to actually bite then gently push her head onto the floor of her hutch with the palm of your hand for a few seconds. This is not meant to hurt her but show her you are not scared & you are the boss. Then stroke the top of her head gently for a while. Don't attempt to pick her up for a few days. Let your bunny know that you are in charge first.
Also hand feed her carrots or her favourite veggies for a week or as long as you want but keep you hand/arm in her property. Obviously if you think she will bite or is biting then don't try this.
If she was not like this before being spayed then is a bit strange. Not unless its just her hormones rather confused.
She may just need a lot of time to calm down again. But she will.

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